Officials: Cape man charged with murder

January 16, 2013

A Cape Coral man who reportedly stabbed his wife to death and then attempted to commit suicide has been charged with her death.

Porfirio Rivera, 50, of 309 N.E. 18th Ave., was arrested and charged Wednesday with second-degree murder in the death of Anna Rivera, 45. He will be booked at the Lee County Jail upon his release from a hospital.

On Wednesday, Rivera was in fair condition at Lee Memorial Hospital.

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Porfirio Rivera

At about 4 p.m. Sunday, Cape police received a call from a friend of Anna Rivera. According to officials, the friend reported that she had just received a phone call from Rivera, in which he had stated that he had killed his wife.

Rivera reportedly told the friend that he was going to kill himself and instructed her to send police to their home on Northeast 18th Avenue.

Officers arrived and entered the home to check on the couple.

Officials reported that Anna Riveras body was discovered on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead from multiple stab wounds.

Rivera was also located on the kitchen floor, with what appeared to be self-inflicted stab wounds. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.

At the hospital, Rivera was interviewed by detectives. According to police officials, he admitted to stabbing and killing his wife at their residence.

"The Cape Coral Police Department grieves with the family of Anna Rivera as they mourn they loss of their loved one to this unspeakable act of violence," Lt. Tony Sizemore, the spokesman for the Cape police, wrote in a statement.

According to court records, Rivera has an open case for one count of aggravated battery offender knew should have known victim pregnant in Lee County. He was charged on Oct. 26 and booked into the Lee County Jail.

Prior to October, Rivera was charged with one count of battery domestic violence in 2006 and 2002. Both times the charges were nolle prossed.

In 1997, he was charged with one count each of battery and battery domestic violence, but the state did not prosecute, the records state.

A funeral service for Anna Rivera was held Wednesday afternoon.

According to her obituary, she was a Lee County resident for more than a decade. A graduate of Southwest Florida College, Anna Rivera was a case worker for the Department of Children and Families for the state of Florida.

She was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and later resided in Patterson, N.J.

Anna Rivera is survived by her mother, children and stepchildren, and six siblings, as well as numerous nephews and nieces, according to her obituary.